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DOT to Set Up Alternative-Fuel Corridors

The U.S. Department of Transportation is establishing a network of 55 alternative fueling and charging corridors for electric, natural gas, hydrogen, and propane fuel vehicles.

The corridors will help drivers find routes with places to recharge or refuel an alternative-fueled vehicle and make it easier for drivers to move to alt-fuel vehicles, especially electric ones.

It spans 35 states and Washington, D.C., and 48 out of 55 routes will be designated as electric-vehicle charging corridors.The corridors will include signage developed by the Federal Highway Administration indicating a charging station or alterative-fueling location. Along the corridors, drivers can expect either existing or planned charging stations within every 50 miles.

The corridor designations were divided into two categories: signage-ready and signage pending. Signage-ready corridors currently have enough alternative fueling facilities to warrant signage along the corridor. Signage-pending corridors have demonstrated plans for future operational infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the FHWA told HDT that there are not currently plans for specific signage indicating fueling stations that could accommodate commercial vehicles, but the plan is in the early stages and is still being developed in participating states and organizations.

“Alternative fuels and electric vehicles will play an integral part in the future of America’s transportation system,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We have a duty to help drivers identify routes that will help them refuel and recharge those vehicles and designating these corridors on our highways is a first step.”